Researchers have identified a potential new approach to better controlling epileptic seizures. Lin Mei, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, who led the new study in mouse models, said the team found a new chemical reaction that could help control epileptic seizures. Their findings were…

Researchers have developed a new treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer. University of Cincinnati professor Andrew Steckl, working with researchers from Johns Hopkins University, developed a new treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Steckl’s Nanoelectronics Laboratory applied an industrial fabrication process called coaxial electrospinning to…

Scientists have discovered a new phenomenon in the brain that could explain the development of early stages of neurodegeneration that is seen in diseases such as ALS, which affects voluntary muscle movement such as walking and talking. The discovery was so novel, the scientists needed to coin a new term to describe it: mitoautophagy, a…

Repairing faulty genes to prevent and cure disease is something researchers have been working towards for many years. While Class 2 CRISPR systems show great promise as gene editing tools in human cells, a research team has now demonstrated that a Cas3-based Class 1 CRISPR system may provide a more efficient and safer alternative, carrying…

A minority of people who use illicit opioids indicated a preference for fentanyl, the super-potent synthetic opioid that accounts for much of the recent rise in US overdose deaths, according to a new study. The study, based on surveys of 308 people who use opioids in Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island, found…

An international team of researchers has developed new genetic-based epilepsy risk scores which may lay the foundation for a more personalized method of epilepsy diagnosis and treatment. This analysis is the largest study of epilepsy genetics to date, as well as the largest study of epilepsy using human samples. Published in the journal Brain, the…

A gut hormone, ghrelin, is a key regulator of new nerve cells in the adult brain, a research team has discovered. It could help pave the way for new drugs to treat dementia in patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Blood-borne factors such as hormones regulate the process of brain cell formation — known as neurogenesis —…

Scientists have shed light on why some people who have a stroke do not also have abnormal heart rhythms, even though their hearts contain similar scar tissue. Their results, published today in eLife, could help identify the best treatments for people who might be at risk of recurrent stroke, new heart disorders, or both. Strokes…

Not a good mix: A researcher has found that adults who combine prescription opioids for severe pain and cannabis report elevated anxiety and depression symptoms, with no increased pain reduction. «Given the fact that cannabis potentially has analgesic properties, some people are turning to it to potentially manage their pain,» Andrew Rogers, said in describing…

People suffering from opioid addiction and chronic pain may have fewer cravings and less pain if they use both mindfulness techniques and medication for opioid dependence, according to researchers. The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the effects of mindfulness and methadone therapy on 30 patients with opioid addiction and chronic…